3 Easy Ways for Companies to Help the Environment

As individuals, people have been contributing in their own little ways to help save the environment. And when companies join their efforts, there is an even bigger impact on the cause. Below are some ways companies can incorporate environmental-friendly practices into their everyday operations.

Encouraging lesser fuel consumption

One way companies can significantly reduce fuel consumption is by allowing telecommuting. If a job can be efficiently done anywhere, employees should be permitted to work from home on some days. Companies can also promote commuting to work by bicycle. For instance, many office buildings in the UK have bike shelters to encourage biking to work. Additionally, if using cars cannot really be avoided, companies can support carpooling by giving a gas allowance to employees who do or by providing carpool services themselves.

Instilling recycling habits

In the workplace, classification can be applied not only to rubbish but also paper. For example, there should be a tray each for clean (no print), scrap (printed on one side), and used (printed on both sides) paper. Furthermore, offices must have recycling bins for office items like ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries, newspaper, etc. This way, companies can also encourage employees to bring in similar items in case they do not have any means of disposing of the recyclable materials they have at home.

Implementing energy-saving practices

Employees should be instructed to turn off anything powered by electricity when it is not in use. Equipment (e.g. monitors, printers, microwave, etc.) that draws vampire power also needs to be unplugged or used with a power strip. If desktops and laptops are not shut down, employees must set them in hibernate or sleep mode. As for the lights, some can be switched off during the day if enough natural light comes in through the office windows.

Individuals are not the only ones who need to help save the environment actively. Perhaps even more so, companies should also do their share in supporting the cause.